Kung fu lessons may help children study. Many parents have noticed a definite co-relation between the commencement of martial arts training and an improvement in their child's grades and behaviour at school. Concentration is definitely a by-product of Kung fu training. The traditional form (a set of prescribed movements against an imaginary opponent) is a lesson in self-control. Great physical and psychological control are developed due to the intensity of focus demanded. Maintaining a low stance, remembering each intricate move, and delivering it with power requires effort and concentration.

Kung fu offers clear bench marks of progress that are not found in many modern-day activities. Initiation is an important part of growing up and Kung fu has obvious stages of progression. The martial arts belt ranking system bestows a different belt (sash) color for each step up the ladder. Children involved in martial arts look forward to each new belt. It gives them a constant sense of achievement. Unlike Little league baseball, hockey or football, this achievement can only be reached on an individual basis. Each child sees the result of his effort. It is neither watered down nor inflated by the team effort. New belt rankings are attained by passing a formal test offered at periodic intervals. A by-product of this test is learning poise in front of judges and an audience.

After two or three years of training, children may actually enter a meditation state while performing their forms (kuen). Although they learn the movements of these forms consciously, at higher stages of training, forms are performed subconsciously. This experience parallels what scientist now believe to be a switch from left to right-side brain function. The left of the brain is thought to represent the logical, conscious bureaucratic side, while the right is said to be more creative and fluid. This may account for the traditional link between Zen meditation and the martial arts. The upper levels of Kung fu may therefore be analogous to moving meditation.

Kung fu is similar to ballet in terms of the physical demands placed on motor coordination. Both the upper and lower body must perform intricate, coordinated movements. Neurological development is still occurring at a young age and Kung fu lessons are very helpful. A number of professional athletic teams have used martial arts training to develop balance and fluidic movement. Aerobic capacity is also increased by a martial arts workout. Pulse rates in Kung fu forms practice are comparable to those in jogging. Maximal pulse rates can be reached during sparring classes. Flexibility is a standard art of Kung fu training. There is nothing astounding about a martial artist being able to kick above his/her head, and many are flexible enough to do the splits. Youngsters may find it easier to get started due to their inherent limberness. A sport that promotes flexibility makes a young athlete less prone to injury and more flexible in later life.

Any parent who remembers what it was like to be bullied in school may want to spare their child such an encounter. A bully usually has low self-esteem. The need to feel powerful causes them to seek out others weaker than themselves. A bully senses weakness such as an unwillingness to look him in the eye, hunched posture, rapid breathing when confronted, a quavering voice, and uncertainty in replies.

Contrary to what parents might believe, martial arts training does not prepare children for a showdown with a bully; rather it short circuits the bully baiting signals. Martial artists learn to look their opponent in the eye. Sparring Martial artists learn to look their opponent in the eye. Sparring teaches control of breathing. Stance work is an integral part of developing balance, power and rapid movement. Students learn to respond to questions in a firm voice. In most cases, the bully is defeated not by combat, but by the martial artist's calm and confident demeanor. Some parents harbor a concern that Martial arts promote violence in a child. According to recent psychiatric studies, however, just the opposite occurs.

University of Miami professor Richard Cerrera, a clinical psychologist who conducted a study of male Martial artists, found that in comparison to a control group of college students, the Martial artists were, "quiet, conscientious, industrious and able to inhibit aggression and hostility." Carrera claims a Martial artist has better control of his violent impulses because he "knows he has the capacity, an may therefor be better able to control it and dispense violence only when necessary. Some people behave uncontrollably when they feel their dignity or masculine identity is threatened. Maybe they wouldn't if their identity was well secured." Many parents are confused by the film industry portrayal of the Martial arts, in which violence is commonplace. Movies, however, tend to dramatize the Martial arts' combat aspects while ignoring its subtleties. Those in the martial arts know that the ultimate goal of Martial arts does not lie in victory or defeat but in the improvement of the participants' character. This is what Kung fu is truly about.